A multilevel latent class analysis of the purchasing channels among European consumers

This work aims at investigating similarities and differences in the ways of purchasing goods and services by European citizens - in particular the consumer behaviour on the preferred purchasing channels among web, phone, mail and sales representatives - by exploiting data collected through the Eurobarometer 69.1 survey in 2008. To this aim, we adopt a multilevel latent class solution, which allows to simultaneously cluster individuals and countries. The overall result is that most countries can be grouped in classes that follow a geographical division, while European citizens can be divided in classes with some specific profiles: a large proportion of consumers have not confidence with alternative purchasing channels yet, particularly among older respondents; most consumers still prefer to buy from sellers or providers located in their own country; more educated individuals show a widespread use of the web; a class of potential purchasers may be determined, particularly among younger people.